Helping Kids Focus

(upbeat instrumental music) Headspace is here to help kids and families show their mind some love. It's time to take a breather. (upbeat music) Hi, and welcome to Headspace Breathers. I'm Samantha, a Kids and Family Mindfulness Expert. Today, I wanna talk about kids and focus. Two things that don't always go hand-in-hand. And with the massive change to children's routines over the last year and more ways to stay distracted, keeping kids focused might seem like a tall order. But with patience and creativity, we can all find ways to stay on task and get things done. So let's take a deep breath and zoom in. (upbeat music) We asked some young Headspacers to answer a few questions. (video button swooshes) And I'm seven years old and I know how to whistle. (Kendyll whistles) (horn honks) Which, sometimes proved harder than we thought. What are some of the things that you're most grateful for? Uh, oh yeah, yeah, I can. So the most thing I'm grateful for, (kids laughs) (horn plays) And what's your name? Indigo. Indigo, what do you have in your mouth? Chocolate. Oh, no! (bounce sound) No Sad to, no? It's not sad to miss someone? Yes Yes I need some, to go (Akiwo mumbles) Okay (mumbles) Thank you. He can't come in to your school, can he? But you like seeing your friends again. (laughing) Indigo The mind loves to wander, and when it does here are some tools you can use to help kids find their focus. For younger kids, start with something as simple as counting breaths. (ball rolling) Counting our breaths provides a solid anchor for children to return to when their minds begin to wander. (dog panting) Overtime children get better at catching their attention when it begins to drift away, so that they feel confident in their ability to stay focused on purpose when they really need to. (deep breathing) So let's put our hands like this. And then we're gonna breathe in and stretch our arms out like this. (deep inhale) And then breathe out bringing it back. (exhale) Nice, okay. Now lets put our hands here on our chest. And then breathe in (deep inhale) and then breathe out. (exhale) And then one last breath, with our hands by our sides. Sitting really still, and we're gonna notice three breaths in our belly. So breathe in, and breathe out. Nice, how do you feel after that? Winston, what did you feel? Sorry about that. (tinkling music) Also remember that this takes practice. So be kind with yourself as you're learning. (soothing music) Ask kids to listen in. Set a timer for one minute and ask your children to tell you how many different sounds they heard. (honking) This allows children to manage their attention with confidence and focus on the task at hand. Listening to sounds on purpose provides another anchor for their attention, and helps them to focus on specific sounds one at a time. (upbeat music)...